Prisoners must have hope beyond “the walls” – Benn

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn has said that inmates serving sentences in penitentiaries across the country deserve equal opportunities and facilities to ensure their rehabilitation and proper reintegration into society.
He has therefore called on inmates at the Mazaruni Prison to take every opportunity to be rehabilitated, as work is ongoing to improve their living conditions.

The Minister made the call during a visit to the facility on Friday, where he had a first-hand assessment of the new prison block.
Benn was accompanied to Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) by Director of Prisons, Nicklon Elliot; Deputy Director of Prisons, Kevin Pilgrim; Regional Commander Dion Moore, technical teams from the Home Affairs Ministry and Service Guyana, along with other staff members of the Ministry and the Guyana Prison Service.
Benn has noted that while the Government would continue to promote rehabilitation and social reintegration to those incarcerated, the inmates must, at the same time, have “better ambition, vision, and behaviour”.
“We must make provision where those who are in prison must have hope beyond the walls; and when leaving the prison, they must be successfully reintegrated into society,” the Home Affairs Minister noted.
Benn further noted that both the prison system and society must view inmates as people who potentially have the ability to better themselves and become productive citizens.
Meanwhile, the final touches to Phase One of the new, state-of-the-art Mazaruni Prison are progressing. With most of the logistics in place, the entire facility would shortly be in operation and would address the issue of overcrowding of prisons across the country. It will accommodate some 220 prisoners.
In an effort to address the issue of overcrowding of prisons across the country, the Mazaruni Prison has been expanded at a cost of $4 billion. And Prison Director Nicklon Elliott has noted that the new prison would improve security, welfare, and accommodation for prisoners. It would also aid in adequately segregating prisoners based on their offence and length of sentence. Moreover, the operation of this new facility would be in keeping with international best practices.